Was it ritual murder? Family and communities seek answers...

Family members and other residents in the deep-rural mountainous village of Tshamulavhu in Ha-Lambani outside Thohoyandou are still seeking for answers after a hunter and self-employed wood chopper’s partially decomposed body was found near a small river on the border of the Kruger National Park.

From what could be established, Mr Mphiriseni Mafhara (49) left his home on 14 October to do some piece jobs around the mountain near his village. When he did not return that evening, his family members became concerned.

“I then informed the relatives and the communities to launch a search for the missing man,” said an uncle of Mafhara, Mr Nyelisani Nedzingahe. The search party that was formed inquired from friends and relatives whether he might be there and then proceeded to areas in the mountain where he would normally chop wood, but to no avail. “We then informed the police, who also joined us in searching along the banks of the Luvuvhu River and in the mountains at Mhinga village near Saselamani, but without success,” said Nedzingahe.

A community member who had formed part of the search party, Mr Bernard Mashau, told Limpopo Mirror that the search continued for several days. On the third day, Mashau spotted something in the bushes not far from the fence with the Kruger National Park. He investigated further and discovered the dead man, who was lying face down in the riverbed of the small Malapa river. What bothered Mashau was the fact that traces of blood were found near the spot where he had found the body.

Mashau expressed the fear that Mafhara’s death might have been the result of a ritual murder. Communities in the Ha-Lambani area are very wary of ritual murderers, said Mashau. According to him, such murders where people disappear and are later found with body parts missing are becoming more common. Some of them disappear without any trace.

“We are worried that, if we leave these things unattended, we will also become victims of ritual murders. I suspect that the deceased might have been murdered and his body was later dumped here. We urge the police to speed up the investigation and help protect innocent people,” he added.

Mr Edson Mafhara, the elder brother of the deceased, described his younger brother as a self-employed man who put food on the table for his family through wood chopping and hunting. He described him as a very honourable man.

“We are also worried as family members, because the deceased leaves behind his wife and two children. Who is going to take care of his family now? We decided to bury him on Saturday, two weeks ago, although we still had many questions,” said Mafhara, referring to the fact that blood was found near the place where his body was discovered.

Limpopo police spokesperson Brigadier Mojalefa Mojapelo said the police in Saselamani had opened an inquest docket after the discovery of the body.

Date:02 November 2019

By: Silas Nduvheni

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